Update: Linc's hearing loss

Life is full of swings and roundabouts - like winter in Canberra makes you appreciate the first warm days of spring; so do bad things make you appreciate the good things. What is all this babble about? Well, we had Linc's audiologist appointment this morning and we are feeling very relieved, after an extended period of intense worry...

Linc has 'mild hearing loss' in both ears (don't be fooled by the 'mild' descriptor - it's enough that he can't hear us from a couple of metres away). However, this hearing loss is only because the sounds aren't getting through the ear canal to the inner ear properly - i.e. the ear drum is not vibrating as it should (a cool little test where pressure is put on the ear drum identifies this as the first issue)... the second test was to determine the extent of the hearing loss; the third test sent sound through his skull directly to the inner ear; Linc passed this test with flying colours which meant that there isn't any issue with his inner ear (which can be a sign that the hearing loss will be permanent)...

So, diagnosis: Medically known as otitis media with iffusion, it's commonly called 'glue ear'; a lovely condition that can sometimes result from an ear infection which leaves a build up of 'gunk' in the middle ear, thereby preventing the small bones in the ear that transmit sound from vibrating. Imagine what it would be like trying to hear a conversation from underwater. Apparently it's very similar. It sounds innocuous, but it's the most likely reason children under five will end up on the operating table... The reason young children are most vulnerable to glue ear is because their Eustachian tubes (the passage between the middle ear and throat) are short and narrow, so can get blocked easily. Fluid secreted in the middle ear is trapped, rather than simply draining into the throat.

Treatment: nothing really 'medical' i.e. no medication; instead, he has to do blowing/sucking things...

Outlook: Very positive; although it could take months to clear up. He will have another hearing test in three months to determine whether it's improved; if it hasn't, they may leave it for slightly longer before the only option is surgery, where, under general anaesthetic, they make a slit in each ear drum and manually drain the fluid.

Three days till we get the keys to the new house. Very exciting. Also exciting is that we bought a king bed on the weekend; luckily the bed (although, not the frame) will arrive before the mattress we are using goes into storage. We have managed to do quite a bit in the past couple of weeks; we badly underestimated the amount of 'junk' that needed disposing of (including a clothes dryer, BBQ, and six massive van wheels/tyres which I eventually took to a scrap metal place in Fyshwick as they couldn't be disposed off in a skip).

Our new bedroom furniture (although we got the king size!) - they chuck in the child for free

We also bought a new TV since the negotiations for the sale of our existing house came down to a request for the inclusion of our wall-mounted Sony TV!

Yes, that '70' means inches (or 177 cm)...

Happy Birthday Carter!

Monday was Carter's third birthday. We had a bunch of Mum's family over for birthday cake after work where Carter enjoyed getting stuck in to his 'smash cake' - a huge chocolate crackle filled with lollies...!

Meanwhile Linc's virus has resulted in severe hearing loss; we are all REALLY hoping that it is temporary, but it's still very upsetting to know that he can't hear us properly when we're trying to talk to him. He has an audiologist appointment first thing Monday morning.

Six nights until we're in the new house... and only half-way through changing several thousand addresses online...

Sick, exchanged, and conjunctivitis...

I guess we should be getting used to it by now; the inevitable long periods of sickness during winter. But you don't. It's always stressful and puts a strain on relationships - especially when Mum and Dad are crook at the same time as the kids...

Carter appears to be over his ear infections (for now) but Linc is still trying to battle a virus; at least the fevers are gone, but he got the first signs of conjunctivitis yesterday - the classic gunky eyes etc. so we went to the chemist and administered some Chlorsig - which he hated - we literally had to physically restrain him just to get the cream into his eye. He woke up this morning with no gunk, but his eye is almost closed over and very, very red; back to the chemist who advises he needs to go to the Doctor. Which is fantastic, as we were only there YESTERDAY as Linc has been coughing so badly at night that he vomits everywhere. And that is just so much fun for everyone, not least of all poor Linc...

And onto the youngest member of the family - Ollie the ragdoll cat. Unfortunately he's a nightmare of a cat; and while the feeling isn't shared amongst the family, he's a pain in the backside, making life even more difficult than it has to be. He has periods where he just turns into a monster - generally only with Dad; his pupils dilate and his ears go back, right before he leaps at my face, claws and teeth bared ready to sink into flesh. And then at night if we don't let him into the bedroom he continually scratches on the door - and then when we finally let him in he proceeds to destroy the doona when trying to bite our feet... if he wasn't so damn cute, and hadn't managed to build a trusted circle of powerful allies, he would be long gone by now...

Anyway, now for the exciting news...: we exchanged on the new house after a period of heightened uncertainty; it's a relief, but it still hasn't sunk in yet - I'm sure it will soon though, considering we move into the new place in TWO WEEKS! The mortgage has now gone from very large to absolutely terrifying, but we aren't Robinson Crusoe in that regard (something not right about still paying off a house when we're 65 years old)... but at least we will have a house we are genuinely happy with (we hope) and that gives us the room to have our own space, and much bigger bedrooms for the kids to play!

Our new house (outlined in red)